


Columbia Lacrosse Team Reaches New Heights With Freshman Nate Archibald

by ivermectin



Series: gossip girl metafic [4]
Category: Gossip Girl (TV 2007)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Club President Nate Archibald, Gen, Lacrosse Captain Nate Archibald, Lacrosse Team, News Media, Sports, Sports Journalism, author is trying to write a jock despite not being a jock, author knows nothing about lacrosse, author needed to google varsity team, author thinks it turned out pretty good all things considered
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:15:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28631607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivermectin/pseuds/ivermectin
Summary: You know that news article pinned up on Juliet's board? I expanded it. Here's a news article about Nate Archibald, Lacrosse Captain and Club President.
Series: gossip girl metafic [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096118
Kudos: 5





	Columbia Lacrosse Team Reaches New Heights With Freshman Nate Archibald

**Author's Note:**

> just in case the image doesn't load, or whatever: the first 3 and a half paragraphs are directly lifted from the article, as well as a part of the sentence about varsity club status. everything else is little old me. 
> 
> i know NOTHING about lacrosse OR about columbia university's clubs/sports teams but also, it's not like GG would've stayed accurate to them anyway. so i didn't really bother looking that up. and yeah, i might've made the sports journalist seem a little secretly in love with nate archibald. whoops.
> 
> [link to the screencap, just in case you can't see it](https://www.homeofthenutty.com/gossipgirl/screencaps/albums/401/401GossipGirl1534.jpg)

For most sports at Columbia, winning a title at any level should merit some form of recognition from both the student body and the athletic administration, but in the case of the Columbia lacrosse club, neither of these were given. The club, which dates back between 50 and 60 years, is one of the most successful sports at any level at Columbia and certainly one of the winningest club sports.

The club which participates in the National Club Lacrosse League, which is the largest club lacrosse league in the country, has had incredible success in the last few years under the guidance and leadership of captain and president Nate Archibald, CC ’09.

Archibald has been with the club since his Freshman year at Columbia, when he and graduate student Jim Watson helped resurrect the club which had just seen its coach off. Today the club has 22 members ad accepts members of all skill levels, even those who have never picked up a lacrosse stick before. And while the club currently does not have a coach, it has proven more than capable of succeeding on the big stages of the national club lacrosse scene.

“My freshman year, we just got a spring season together at the last minute, and our team was very new to the whole thing,” Archibald admits when asked, with a good-natured smile. “Sports can be a great way to bring people together, and when people are brought together in ways that are authentic, they usually support each other naturally and try to bring out the best in each other, and that’s true of most team sports with a healthy team.”

When asked about why the club chose to be open to people across skill levels, Archibald explained, “The best player’s only worth as much as they can collaborate. Nobody likes a ball hoarder. The player's got to pass, and the only way we can ensure members of the team participate is if they all know that nobody is better than anybody else.”

Archibald believes that there are three main factors that could theoretically harbour the club from attaining varsity status, but outlined that, at the core of it, it’s a matter of priorities.

“No university can have varsity teams in everything,” Archibald says. “And as of now, we don’t have a formal coach, even, so while that makes our team that much more independent, it means we don’t have the credibility a lot of other sports teams at Columbia do. For a team to qualify for varsity status, there’s lots of demands from admin that need to be met, of course. They can’t allocate funds to every single team that props up, they need consistent performance stats, and the guarantee that the team is dependable, which is where having a formal coach really helps.”

Members of the team, however, say that Archibald fills a position not unlike that of a coach himself.

“It’s unexpected,” Rivers, a member of the team, says. “One doesn’t usually expect to see such initiative from any student, let alone a freshman.”

“He carries the team on his shoulders,” Johns, another member of the team, agrees.

Archibald’s approach to lacrosse has earned much approval both in the sports journalist community and with lacrosse enthusiasts. The real question is one of what the future holds for the Columbia lacrosse club. A team that does not have varsity status at a reputed university is usually not a team that serious athletes strive to be on. However, Archibald’s involvement has been a clear game changer, and has brought a much-needed sincerity and unity to the team. One can only hope that this team is given the support and recognition that they so clearly deserve.

**Author's Note:**

> hey, if there's anything you want me to write in this series feel free to ask? i can't guarantee that i'll write everything people request, but it's a really fun activity, so if you want to see something, you lose nothing by asking :')


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